Arsenal have suffered yet another international break-related injury concern, as Bukayo Saka was forced off the pitch in England's shock 2-1 UEFA Nations League loss to Greece.

The September hiatus was a particularly painful one for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who witnessed both Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori sustain injuries while representing their countries last month.

Arteta's prayers for an injury-free October international break have already gone unanswered, as Saka gingerly trudged off the field at Wembley on Thursday night, just after the Greeks took the lead.

The 23-year-old looked to be clutching the back of his thigh as he limped off to be replaced by Chelsea's Noni Madueke, and his participation for Sunday's clash with Finland is also in severe doubt.

Lee Carsley was asked about Saka's condition in his post-game press conference, and the interim England manager confirmed that the Arsenal man had "felt something" in his leg, a worrying admission from the 50-year-old.

Carsley confirms Saka "felt something" in his leg

"He's being assessed, he felt something in his leg" 🚨

England interim boss Lee Carsley discusses Bukayo Saka being forced off with an injury in the defeat to Greece. pic.twitter.com/B5NtTx7LqT

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 10, 2024

Asked if Saka's withdrawal was forced rather than precautionary, Carsley replied: "Yep. He's being assessed, but yeah obviously in the build-up to the goal, you could see that he had felt something in his leg."

Saka formed part of a new-look attacking contingent for England at Wembley, as in spite of the absence of Harry Kane from the starting lineup, Carsley opted against promoting Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke to the first XI.

Instead, Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon all started, but England were barely able to lay a glove on Greece and deservedly went a goal down to a Vangelis Pavlidis strike.

However, just as he did against Slovakia at Euro 2024, Bellingham has seemingly saved the day for England with a late equaliser, side-footing home a venomous first-time strike off the palm of Greece goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

The Pirate Ship were not prepared to leave with just one point, though, and Pavlidis bagged his second of the game in injury time to propel the 2004 European champions to an emotionally-charged win in the wake of George Baldock's death.

How could Arsenal cope without Saka?

© Imago

It is still far too early to say how long Saka might be sidelined for, but given the fact that he was spotted holding the back of his leg, it can be assumed that he has done some damage to his hamstring.

Even the least severe hamstring strains can take a couple of weeks to heal, potentially ruling Saka out of meetings with Bournemouth (October 19) and Shakhtar Donetsk (October 22), and it remains to be seen if he will be able to take on Liverpool on October 27 too.

Two of Saka's recognised backups left the club this summer - Fabio Vieira joining Porto on loan and Reiss Nelson heading to Fulham on a temporary basis - but his possible absence could see Ethan Nwaneri stake his claim for a starting role.

Alternatively, Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling offers a more experienced option on the right flank for Arsenal, who already have Odegaard, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney out injured.

Thomas Partey was also forced to leave the Ghana camp due to medical issues, but Arsenal are reportedly optimistic about the fitness of both the midfielder and Havertz, who withdrew from the Germany squad due to a knee problem.

Written by
Ben Knapton